§ 251.96 - Intervention.

(a) A request to intervene in an appeal may be made at any time prior to the closing of the appeal record (§ 251.98) at the first level of appeal (§ 251.87). Requests to intervene in an appeal at the discretionary review level (§ 251.87(d)) shall be denied.

(b) To request intervention in a first-level appeal under this subpart, a party, at a minimum, must:

(1) Submit a written petition to intervene to the Reviewing Officer,

(2) Be, as defined at § 251.81 of this subpart, an applicant for or holder of a written instrument issued by the Forest Service that is the subject of or affected by the appeal, and have an interest that could be directly affected by a decision on the appeal, and

(3) Show, in the request for intervention, how the decision on the appeal would directly affect petitioner's interests.

(c) The Reviewing Officer determines whether a party requesting intervention meets the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section. In granting intervention, the Reviewing Officer must give notice to all other parties to the appeal.

(d) A granting or denial of intervention is not subject to appeal to a higher level.

(e) Appellants and intervenors must concurrently furnish copies of all submissions to each other as well as the Deciding Officer. Failure to provide each other copies may result in removal of a submission from the appeal record. At the discretion of the Reviewing Officer, appellants may be given additional time to review and comment on initial submissions by intervenors.

(f) An intervenor cannot continue an appeal if the appellant withdraws the appeal.

[54 FR 3362, Jan. 23, 1989, as amended at 54 FR 34510, Aug. 21, 1989]